THE RESCUE OF CAPTAIN SCOTT by Don Aldridge. (The Mill House, Phantassie, East Linton, East Lothian EH40 3DG Scotland: The Tuckwell Press Ltd., 1999) 215 pp, 50 black and white illustrations, 2 maps, crew check lists, references, index. ISBN 1 86232 070 5. UK £20.
This narrative gives the background to the building of the Discovery in
Dundee, examining links between whaling, polar ships, marine engineering,
and polar ice rescues.
It recounts the remarkable exploits of Dundee's ice master, Captain Harry
McKay, whose experience of rescuing ships locked in pack ice with the aid of
his new explosive techniques made him the Admiralty's choice to free Captain
Scott aboard Discovery from this fate in the Antarctic in 1904.
The author's research in Dundee, New Zealand and Australia has uncovered
unpublished material including photographs and diaries from the two rescue
ships and reveals for the first time how Merchant Navy Captains - McKay of
the Terra Nova and Colbeck of the Morning - blasted 18 miles of ice to free
Scott. It is one of the most incredible Antarctic feats ever performed but
it has been overlooked for close on a century.
The book has a darker side and tells how Discovery's inexperienced leader
consigned the two superbly experienced and competent captains, McKay and
Colbeck, to oblivion and became a national hero in their stead. It is a
study in mythmaking. Eye witnesses contrast the false heroics, boasting,
paranoia and maniacal insistence on Royal Navy discipline aboard Discovery
with the work of the other two ships' captains, whose patient progress in
getting the job done was achieved with great skill and supreme seamanship.
In 1984 Don Aldridge, recognised as the person who introduced interpretation
planning to the UK, respected for his work with the Countryside Commission
for Scotland, and who for over thirty years has lived and worked in Dundee's
hinterland, was commissioned to make a comprehensive study to look at
Dundee's potential for interpretation.
Aldridge lamented the fact that Dundee had for so long turned its back on
its superb river frontage and he stressed the maritime and polar themes. It
was learned that the RRS Discovery might be available, but only if action
was taken quickly and Aldridge had given total justification for bringing
Discovery back to her home city. One year's hard work raising finance and
clearing legal hurdles was rewarded by the sight of Discovery sailing up the
Tay Estuary, cheered by thousands of people on the shore. This bestowed the
title "City of Discovery" on Dundee, a title used for projecting excellence
in technology and education and many other positive activities which lay
ahead.
Between 1984 and 1993, the waterfront proposals took shape with a dock for
Discovery and heritage centre alongside. Don Aldridge worked on the
research, interpretation and scripting for the designers of Discovery Point,
including the script for the spectacular audio-visual programme. His
researches unearthed the story of why Scott had to come to Dundee to get the
ship built and the incredible fact that had it not been for a Dundee whaling
captain, Discovery would have been lost in the Antarctic in 1904. At the
opening of Discovery Point on 1st July 1993, the Duke of Edinburgh wondered
who was responsible for the idea. Few of those crammed into the foyer to
hear his opening speech knew the answer!
This book came to be written in response to requests made by the visiting
public who had been intrigued to hear the rescue story and who wanted to
know more about Harry McKay. Why was there not a statue of him in front of
Discovery Point? Why have his exploits been covered up, even in his own
city? And who was responsible for covering up the truth and even snubbing
the entire ship's company of McKay's Terra Nova Rescue Expedition? After
more than a decade of painstaking research, mostly in Australian and New
Zealand archives, Don Aldridge has vindicated McKay and tells the story of
one of the greatest feats in Antarctic history.
--The above is taken from the book jacket blurb, and from Jeff Lonsdale's
Foreword. Thanks to Paul Youngs, Edinburgh, Scotland, for sending it on.
25 August 2002
I have the book but have yet to read it. I will say that the photo illustrations, although many are new to me, are very poorly reproduced. Some Antarcticans have been critical of the tone.
--R. Stephenson
25 August 2002
Judy Skelton has kindly sent for inclusion a review she did for Antarctic, the Journal of the New Zealand Antarctic Society, Vol 18, No. 1, 2000.
It is Don Aldridge's contention that the official version of how Captain Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic exploration vessel 'Discovery' was relieved and released from the ice of McMurdo Sound in early 1904 is a deliberately created myth. His book seeks to set the record straight by restoring the role of Captain Harry McKay and the Scottish crew of his Dundee whaling ship 'Terra Nova' to what he argues is its true prominence.
The heart of the book is Aldridge's detailed account of the events of the forty day period between the arrival of the two relief ships, 'Morning' and 'Terra Nova', at McMurdo Sound in January 1904 and the day 'Discovery' was able to move from her anchorage off Hut Point for the first time in two years. Aldridge argues that the 'Terra Nova' played a critical role in breaking the ice, through continually butting it and exploding strategically placed charges to produce cracks which McKay calculated would then be further broken by the action of the waves and currents of the Ross Sea, the relief ships subsequently helping to sweep the broken ice out of the way before tackling the next stretch in the same manner. Aldridge portrays Scott as covertly resisting such rescue attempts with every device in his power and describes why and how, in his view, Scott then falsified the record and successfully wrote McKay and 'Terra Nova' out of the script.
The author tries to give his book every appearance of a scholarly work. It is packed with quotations, many from primary sources, each with a detailed reference to the original. Unfortunately the work is seriously flawed and cannot sustain this scholarly image. There are errors of fact and the majority of quotations I checked against their original sources were found to be inaccurately reproduced, in a significant number of cases sufficiently so as to lay the author open to charges of deliberate misrepresentation. In his introduction, Aldridge claims to provide "quotations straight from the pages of the original, not from the imaginary observations honed into shape in some much admired beautiful prose". I don't think so, Mr Aldridge. As I shall show below, imagination would appear to have played its part after all.
I shall content myself with two examples of misquotations. The first, perhaps one of the most startling examples in the book, is a reference to Captain Scott's own published account of the expedition, The Voyage of the Discovery, published by Smith and Elder in 1905. The passage referred to is from Volume II, page 336. I have underlined the words which differ as between the quotation and the source. Aldridge, p 112
"Scott then let slip an amazing and revealing turn of phrase:
"'Went up the hill shortly after Koettlitz and was most agreeably disappointed to find open water just round the edge of the glacier.'" [my italics] Scott, The Voyage of the Discovery, Vol II, p 336
"Went up the hill with Koettlitz and saw a most cheering sight. The ice has broken away well inside the glacier."
This is a most significant variation because Aldridge uses this quotation to uphold his argument that Scott was resisting rescue. He presents it as a Freudian slip revealing Scott's true desires. The correct rendering permits no such interpretation.
My second example comes from Volume VII of the Antarctic journals of Reginald Skelton, Chief Engineer of 'Discovery', (held in the archives of the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge) and describes how the ship's company, before the arrival of the relief ships, attempted to break the ice by sawing.
Aldridge, p 88: "Skelton called the sawing: "'the most fearful waste of time one could possibly think of. One would think Armitage was entirely devoid of common sense, but he is just carrying out orders!'"
Skelton's 'Discovery' Journal, Volume VII (pages are unnumbered)
"It was certainly the most fearful waste of time one could possibly think of. One would think Armitage was entirely devoid of common sense, and that his only idea was to say that he had carried out orders, as a matter of fact I'm sure his orders were to only do something that would be of use and that was to be a practical working scheme, above everything else."
The change in this quotation plainly alters the sense, again in such a way as to lend greater support to Aldridge's argument. Skelton is clearly criticising Armitage here but Aldridge turns the passage into an implied criticism of Scott. If it is inexcusable to misquote from a published source, which can be verified by the committed reader relatively readily, it must be unforgivable to do so with unpublished material beyond the reach of most readers to check. Surely the writer, who after all is avowedly committed to revealing a hidden truth, has a special responsibility to his readers to treat his unpublished sources with scrupulous accuracy.
Some of Aldridge's errors of fact are surprising, given that they concern information which is well known and available from a variety of published sources. He makes the following statement: Aldridge, p 91
"(Of the hundred men [the combined ships' companies of 'Discovery', 'Morning' and 'Terra Nova'] with Scott that day only five did volunteer to go with him again on his Antarctic expedition of 1910-1913, and only one of them was an officer.)"
There were, in fact, six of 'Discovery's' own ship's company who actually went with Scott on his later expedition. They were (none of them officers):
Thomas Crean
Edgar Evans
William Heald
William Lashly
Thomas Williamson
Edward Wilson
A seventh man, Reginald Skelton - an officer, also volunteered for the expedition. The fact that he did not go was not through any lack of desire on his part to accompany Scott.
In addition, there were three members of the 'Morning's' ship's company who went on the 1910-1913 expedition with Scott:
Lt E R G R Evans (officer)
William Knowles
James Paton
So, of the 100 men Aldridge speaks of, there were ten, rather than five, who volunteered to go in 1910, but among the 'Discovery' people, who must be credited with knowing Scott rather better than those in the other ships, there was a total of seven volunteers (approximately 19%) of the 37 who were aboard 'Discovery' at this time besides Scott himself, a considerably more impressive proportion.
Apart from the book's shortcomings illustrated above, I believe it also loses credibility through its extremely unbalanced treatment of Captain Scott. It seems to me that, in his attempt to right the wrongs he regards as having been done to Colbeck (Captain of 'Morning'), and above all McKay, Aldridge is so concerned to knock Scott off his hero's pedestal that he does not allow him even to be human, with strengths as well as weaknesses. Scott must be made into an evil genius, incapable of achieving anything worthwhile. After describing him as having been a good student, aged 13, at the Royal Naval College, Aldridge's subsequent references to Scott are unremittingly negative. The following example, where Scott's character is slurred by implication rather than any concrete evidence, is typical.
Aldridge, p 69: "to placate Admiralty criticism, Shackleton followed the illustrious example of his Commander and wove yet another fictional story"
By now, controversy as to the true character and achievements of Captain Scott is not merely a matter of esoteric debate among specialists but has also become public property. I believe that there is value in trying to establish as accurate an account as possible and, from that point of view, a book fulfilling the aims of this one should be welcome.
I will not venture an opinion as to whether or not Aldridge's account of 'Discovery's' release from the ice has truth on its side but his abuse of the sources he quotes so liberally and the other shortcomings of his book seem to me more likely to engender doubt than inspire confidence in his argument. I'm sure Don Aldridge meant to delight Dundonians with his tale of the unsung hero McKay and his ship 'Terra Nova', but for me this book merely succeeds in undermining its own credibility.
(10 September 2006)
ANTARCTICA, 1772-1922; FREESTANDING PUBLICATIONS THROUGH 1999. by Michael H. Rosove. (Santa Monica, California: Adélie Books, 2001) 28 cm, quarter buffalo, linen, gilt, high-quality, acid-free papers, Smyth-sewn, headbands. pp. xxxii, 537; 10 plate leaves (5 colored). Limited edition of 500 numbered copies, all similarly bound and signed by the author on the limitation leaf. ISBN 0-9705386-0-X. Price: "US$150 (domestic), more overseas at the bookseller's discretion."
This new bibliography, the latest word on Antarctica's classical and heroic periods, is the result of ten years' research including the examination of private collections, booksellers' holdings, and the repositories of twelve of the world's most important libraries and archives (Scott Polar Research Institute, Royal Geographical Society, Royal Society, British Library, Bibliothèque Nationale, Mawson Collection, Baker Library at Dartmouth, Hill Collection, Scripps Oceanographical Institute, UCLA, Huntington Library, and Library of Congress), aided by bibliographies, twenty years' booksellers' catalogues, and computerized data bases.
The bibliography contains many rare and virtually unknown publications and clarifies innumerable obscure points of interest. Included are all publications in the original language of the author and English-language translations. (Non-English translations are given in brief.) Given are all contemporary publications (prospectuses, narratives, science) and selected post-contemporary publications (memorials, diaries, autobiographies, biographies, analyses, bibliographies, references, humanities) in all identified editions, printings, and variants, with binding and collation details, bibliographical references, ISBN, rarity, original price, and referenced commentary. Less important post-contemporary publications are listed in brief. Author/editor, title, and subject indexes are provided.
About the author: Michael Rosove has had an interest in Antarctica for over twenty years and has made several trips to high south latitudes. He is the author of Let Heroes Speak: Antarctic Explorers, 1772-1922 (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2000), a critically lauded history now scheduled for release in paperback (New York: Penguin Putnam, Berkley Publishing). Dr. Rosove is Clinical Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles.
NOTE: This is the long-awaited bibliography that Michael has been working on for ages. It will probably become the standard bibliography for collectors of Antarcticana, supplementing--indeed supplanting--'Spence' and the the more recent 'Conrad' and 'Taurus' (just issued). Due out soon.
--R. Stephenson
(10 October 2001)
UPDATE: My copy arrived yesterday--the day after the 'South Polar Times' (see below), so it's been an exciting Antarctic weekend! Michael's book is ABSOLUTELY STUPENDOUS, far bigger, better and more impressive than one could ever imagine. This is THE book for any Antarctican, book collector or not. The production is first rate, but it is the content that is so amazing in its detail and breadth. I've seen no bibliography in any field or of any era that comes close to this effort. This is a marvelous achievement and we should all be grateful to Michael for undertaking it and bringing it too such a magnificent conclusion (actually, he invites comments and contributions and intends "...to publish an "Additions and Corrections" supplement at some future date.").
Here's some additional information:
Publisher: Adélie Books, P. O. Box 3356, Santa Monica, CA 90408.
E-mail inquiries: mrosove@mednet.ucla.edu
On the copyright page: "Text set in Monotype Bembo. Printed by Edwards Brothers, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Text on 60-pound Finch Opaque Cream White (vellum finish), high-opacity, acid-free paper. Plates on 70-pound EB Satin, high-opacity, acid-free paper. Bound by Kater-Crafts Bookbinders, Pico Rivera, California."
Contents:
List of Plates [1. The attainment of the South Pole (showing the spines of Amundsen's 'Sydpolen' and 'Scott's Last Expedition'). 2. Amundsen's 'Sydpolen,' Part I from the original 40 parts. 3. The first Russian edition of Bellingshausen's voyage. 4. Two narratives of the first landing on the Antarctic continent (Bull and Kristensen). 5. The entire wrapper from Charcot's narrative of his first expedition. 6. The first book containing a firsthand account of the Antarctic regions, by John Marra, published anonymously. 7. The "first edition" and "approved edition" Royal Society manuals. 8. The first book printed and bound in Antarctica ('Aurora Australis'). 9. The signed double leaf from 'The Antarctic Book.' 10. The title leaf from Shirase's 'Nankyoku-ki.']
Preface [8 pages. Dated 20 August 2001. All the necessary sources, acknowledgments, abbreviations, the 'taxonomy' employed, etc.]
List of Voyages and Expeditions [12 pages. Very useful descriptions of the following 29 voyages/expeditions:
1. James Cook in the 'Resolution' and 'Adventure' (1772-75).
2. Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen in the 'Vostok' and 'Mirny' (1819-21).
3. Sealing and Early Scientific Voyages (1819-30).
4. John Biscoe (1830-33), John Balleny (1838-39) and the Enderby Voyages (1830-50).
5. Jules S.-C. Dumont D'Urville in the 'Astrolabe' and the 'Zélée' (1837-40).
6. Charles Wilkes and the United States Exploring Expedition (1838-42).
7. James Clark Ross in the 'Erebus' and 'Terror' (1839-43).
8. Thomas E. L. Moore in the 'Pagoda' (1844-45).
9. Edouard Dallman in the Grönland (1872-74).
10. The Dundee Whaling Expedition (1892-93).
11. Carl A. Larsen in the 'Jason,' 'Hertha,' and 'Castor' (1892-94)
12. Henryk Johan Bull in the 'Antarctic' (1893-95).
13. Adrien de Gerlache and the Voyage of the 'Belgica' (1897-99).
14. Carsten E. Borchegrevink and the Voyage of the 'Southern Cross' (1898-1900).
15. Robert F. Scott and the National Antarctic Expedition (1901-4).
16. Erich von Drygalski and the German National Antarctic Expedition (1901-3). 17. Otto Nordenskjöld and the Swedish Antarctic Expedition (1901-3).
18. William S. Bruce and the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (1902-4). 19. Jean-Baptiste Charcot and the French Antarctic Expedition (1903-5).
20. Ernest H. Shackleton an the British Antarctic Expedition (1907-9).
21. Jean-Baptiste Charcot and the Second French Antarctic Expedition (1908-10). 22. Roald Amundsen and the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition (1910-12).
23. Scott's Last Expedition--The British Antarctic ('Terra Nova') Expedition (1910-13).
24. Nobu Shirase and the Japanese Antarctic Expedition (1910-12).
25. Wilhelm Filchner and the Second German Antarctic Expedition (1911-12).
26. Douglas Mawson and the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911-14).
27. Ernest H. Shackleton and the Imperial Transantarctic Expedition (1914-17).
28. John L. Cope and the British Imperial Expedition (1920-22).
29. Shackleton's Last Voyage--The Shackleton-Rowett Expedition (1921-22).]
Section I: Primary and Selected Publications [481 pages covering 365 titles. Entries range from perhaps a quarter of a page to numerous pages (the Wilkes' entry--No. 350 runs to 23 pages). Bibliophiles and collectors will find the details on publication, binding, collations and all the 'points' and variants extraordinarily useful. For those just interested in the Antarctic, the commentary on each title alone is worth the price.]
Section II: Other Titles Briefly Mentioned [28 pages covering 355 titles. Entries include (although not in all instances): author, title, publisher and place of publication, date of publication, bibliographic references and short descriptions or commentary.]
Indexes [27 pages. Three indexes are included: Author/Editor Index; Title Index; Subject Index.]
So the big question now is who will be the first bookseller, auctioneer or author to include a citation or description: "Rosove 117.F1" (or the ultimate: "Not in Rosove")? I would guess it will be a matter of days.
--R. Stephenson
(3 February 2002)
UPDATE: As far as citing Rosove, it didn't take long. The head of Special Collections cataloguing at UCLA e-mailed on the 6th of February to say "...we just happened to have started cataloging the Mary Jo Goodwin Antarctica Collection a few weeks ago,... I decided to put the first citation on our record for Aurora Australis (what else?)."
--R. Stephenson
(10 March 2002)
UPDATE: UCLA may have been the first of the libraries to cite Michael's bibliography, but the first bookseller to do so--or the first catalogue that I've received that cites it--arrived today: Catalogue 60 from Helen Kahn in Montreal. She's one of the great booksellers and still turns out catalogues the old fashioned way--with lots of detail and no gimmicks. Among those items cited: Marra's Journal (Rosove 214.A1a); Scott's Last Expedition (Rosove 290.B1b); Scott's Voyage of the Discovery (Rosove 286.A3); Shackleton's Heart of the Antarctic (Rosove 305.C1a); and Weddell's Voyage (Rosove 345.A1).
--R. Stephenson
(3 April 2002)
UPDATE: Michael e-mails to say that the "Additions and Corrections Supplement" to his bibliography "is now in preparation, and I hope to have it
published formally in the early part of 2004 under the Adélie Books imprint.
All contributors ... are being acknowledged. Feel free to make an announcement at the antarctic-circle website if you wish to do so. If you do, please also state that this is a last call for contributions, and that I may be contacted at mrosove@mednet.ucla.edu.
(23 September 2003)
UPDATE: Michael reports that the "Additions and Corrections Supplement" to his bibliography is on hold for the moment. He's still receiving a steady stream of contributions and has decided to wait until this slows down.
ANTARCTICA: FIRST IMPRESSIONS 1773-1930 edited by Douglas R.G. Sellick. (Fremantle, Australia: Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 2001) [256] pp. Paper. Black and white photographic illustrations, drawings, maps. ISBN 1 86368 343 7. Available in the US at $26.95 from International Specialized Book Services in Portland, Oregon (www.isbs.com) Tel: 1-800-944-6190.
"The aim of this anthology is to offer the reader a diverse collection of gripping autobiographical first impressions of travellers of all kinds to Antarctica..."
--From the Editor's Note.
Excerpts from the accounts of explorers. A nicely designed book. The elusive Shackleton quote is featured on the front free endpaper (see $100 CONTEST! elsewhere on this site).
Contents:
Editor's Note
Introduction by Professor Peter Spearritt
James Cook
James Weddell
James Eights (an unexpected but welcomed inclusion)
Charles Wilkes
Sir James Clark Ross
William J.J. Spry (another unexpected but welcomed inclusion)
Henrik Johan Bull
Frederick Albert Cook
Robert Falcon Scott
Ernest Henry Shackleton
Roald Engebreth Gravning Amundsen
Edward R.G.R. Evans
Herbert G. Ponting
Frank Debenham
Douglas Mawson
Ernest Edward Mills Joyce
Sir Hubert Wilkins
A South Polar Chronology (a useful 7 page chronology)
Bibliography
Douglas Sellick (About the author "...a freelance history and literary researcher and anthologist.")
--R Stephenson
(9 May 2002)
HIPPOLYTE'S ISLAND by Barbara Hodgson. (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2001) 282 pp. $24.95. ISBN 0-8118-2892-1.
A large amount of Antarctic fiction has been written over the years [see Fauno Cordes' bibliography elsewhere on this site] and generally I don't take much notice of it. But Hippolyte's Island is fun and appealing in a quirky way. It's beautifully produced and the illustrations by the author are terrific and really become part of the story. If you're interested in the South Shetlands, South Georgia, sealing or early cartography, you should enjoy this book.
--R. Stephenson
(10 March 2002)
"Craving a new adventure, Hippolyte Webb, quixotic traveler, writer, and natural historian, sets his sights on the Auroras, a group of tiny islands in the middle of the South Atlantic. His destination wouldn't be so unusual, except that these islands were last spotted almost two hundred years ago. Equipped with outdated charts, an inadequate sailboat, and an advance for a book about his quest, he heads for the Auroras--and finds more than he ever imagined. But the challenges that he meets on his voyage are nothing compared to those that await him when he returns.
Marie Simplon, his no-nonsense book editor, is appalled by Hippolyte's strange tale and wants nothing to do with the Auroras-or with him. However, as he inundates her with centuries-old maps, sketches, and specimens from his journey, she is drawn against her better judgment into the mysterious details of his experiences in the South Atlantic. The two are soon joined in a race-Hippolyte to prove that his islands exist, Marie to refute his claims. Marie finds herself succumbing to a tide of conflicting emotions about the journey and the man, and she realizes she must embark on her own quest to discover for herself the limits of logic and the power of belief."
--From the dustwrapper.
ON ANTARCTICA by Len Airey, illustrated by John Elliott. Due for US publication in August, 2001. Visit www.OnAntarctica.com for additional information.
On Antarctica is filled with anecdotes of humour, tragedy, fire, war,
wildlife, tourism, mountaineering, celebration, base-life, yachting,
travel, science, sex and even spies! The book is an extraordinary but true
account of life on remote Antarctic bases where people live with few companions, no neighbours, no shops, no help, no hospitals and no way out.
Read how Antarctica was affected by the Falkland Island war with new,
original material never before released. Read about the Petermann tragedy
and the desperation of isolation in Antarctica. Read what they do in
Antarctica to survive those winter nights and celebrate those special
occasions. Read about life 'On Antarctica,' mesmerising, a book
outstandingly written with scores of illustrations and photographs.
Alliance House Distributors will be the exclusive distributor to all
leading bookstores in the US.
Sir Ranulph Fiennes has provided the following Foreword:
'On Antarctica' is a very private book yet a very open revelation of a man who lived his dream for a while. Len Airey yearns to following in the wake of early Antarctic explorers. "I had been determined to stand where Ernest Shackleton had once stood in Antarctica," he writes. And when he stood on South Georgia, the final resting place for Shackleton, he makes the commentary, "I recalled what Shackleton had said when he received the news that Scott had died attempting to be the first man to reach the South Pole. "He did not mean to die in Europe. He wanted (some day) to die away on one of his expeditions and I shall go on going, old man, 'till one day I shall not come back.""
But 'On Antarctica' is not concerning history. The author endures the very best and the very worst imaginable during four long years. It is a frank, sometimes agonizing account of his interaction with the continent and comrades. "The landscape slowly took on its winter coat as sea and land became one. . . .", and "He loomed up at me like a Rottweiler. The others backed away. He put his face close to mine. . . ." Each of his three winters living on remote research stations is very different. Fear, excitement, debauchery, camaraderie, the joy of isolation, and above all the wonder of the place are all well covered in this fascinating story, which is well served by the excellent illustrations of artist John Elliot.
Len Airey (Author) -- He was born in Cornwall, England, and lived and worked in Antarctica for four years. Len Airey was awarded the Polar Medal in 1986 for outstanding services in Antarctica. He has provided more than forty colour photographs for the book.
John Elliot (Illustrator) -- He is an accomplished Nyack, Rockland County artist and has provided more than forty illustrations, including the cover artwork.
I've not seen the book although Billy-Ace Baker reviews it in the Fall-Winter 2001 issue of The Polar Times.
--R. Stephenson
3 February 2002
ANTARCTICA: "...TO A LONELY LAND I KNOW" by Ken Pawson. (Inwood, Manitoba: Whippoorwill Press, 2001) 313 pp. CAN$28 or US$20, plus shipping. ISBN 0-9681675-1-9. Distributed by Aquila Books, Box 75035 Cambrian Postal Outlet, Calgary, Alberta T2K 6J8, Canada. Tel: 403-282-5832. Fax: 403-289-0814. E-mail: Aquila@cadvision.com. Web: http://www.aquilabooks.com
Contents
From the author of Dogs and Men (Kevin Walton)
Acknowledgments
Foreword (Geoffrey Hattersley-Smith, FRSC)
Preface
1. First Longings
2. My Dreams Come True
3. Down the Latitudes to the Falklands
4. Last Days in Civilization
5. First Ice
6. Around the Bases to Port Lockroy
7. Settling In--Before the Last Ship
8. The Coming of Winter
9. The Sun Again!
10. Summer: Manhauling on Wiencke Island
11. The John Biscoe Returns
12. Waiting at Base F
13. Northward to Admiralty Bay
14. Early Winter on Camp Glacier
15. Winter Sled Journey
16. Our Last Sled Journey
17. Last Days at Base G
18. Farewell to Antarctica
Appendix A [short biographies of those at the bases]
Bibliography
Appendix B: Brave Little Heart [two of the author's poems]
Final Words: To Yap [the author's old lead dog]
Maps [two small, not easily read maps]
Antarctica: "...to a lonely land I know. " recounts a young man's experience during the Golden Age of Antarctic exploration immediately following the end of WWII, before "the mass of scientists and tourists arrived." In characteristic understatements, Ken Pawson details life in the remote bases, where he and his colleagues conducted surveys, explorations and gathered scientific data. They were helped by the dedicated teams of Inuit Sled Dogs, originally brought from Labrador and Greenland. The dogs provided both transport and companionship in those lonely and harsh surroundings.
Ken Pawson gives a compelling narrative often laced with humor. This is not the stuff of dramatic heroism or of banner headlines. It is the story of ordinary life in extraordinary surroundings, of men and dogs doing the jobs they were assigned to do.
Ken Pawson is also a poet. In 2000, he won the prestigious Dog Writers of America award in the poetry category.
--From the back cover.
The author spent December 1947 to July 1950 with the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS), working as a meteorologist and surveyor from bases on islands off the Antarctic Peninsula.
An interesting personal account of the author's time with FIDS, an era that hasn't received a great deal of attention in the literature. The photographs, although not reproduced terribly well, are very welcomed. One I particularly noticed is on page 150: the grave and cairn of Eric Platt. In May of 2001 I visited St Mary's Church in the tiny village of Cotton Stones, West Yorkshire, in search of a memorial window to Platt. It was placed there by his parents. Ken Pawson was born nearby in Triangle and attended the same grammar school as Platt. Platt died at Admiralty Bay in 1948.
--R. Stephenson
(6 January 2002)
SOUTH WITH ENDURANCE. SHACKLETON'S ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION 1914-1917. THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF FRANK HURLEY Frank Hurley. Edited by Tamiko Rex. Contributors and consultants: Paul Costigan, Michael Gray, Shane Murphy, Gael Newton and Joanna Wright. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001) 320 pp. $50. ISBN 0-7432-2292-X.
Contents
Foreword (Joanna Wright)
The Endurance Expedition (Shane Murphy)
The Perfect Picture: James Francis Hurley (Gael Newton)
Portfolio: Selected Photographs
Pioneer of Polar Photograph (Michael Gray and Gael Newton)
Frank Hurley's Cameras, Equipment, and Materials (Michael Gray)
Gallery: The Complete Photographs
Frank Hurley: A Chronology
Acknowledgments and Bibliography
Photography Credits
"...the first book to reproduce a total of nearly 500 extant photographs, including many remarkable color images that have never been published before. It is the first to reproduce the photos to a standard size that display Hurley's work as the art that it is. Drawn from the archives of the Royal Geographical Society in London, the State Library of New South Wales in Sydney, and the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, the photographs are complemented by excerpts from Hurley's diary, a chapter about the expedition itself, a biographical essay, and commentary about Hurley's photographic technique."
--From the dustjacket.
Very large, very heavy, very comprehensive. There's an awful lot of good material here and not just Antarctic-related. Section Five (Gallery: The Complete Photographs) is just that, a gallery of ALL of Hurley's Antarctic photographs. (This is useful but would have been more so if the photos had been numbered so that this 'Gallery' could be used in the future as a photo-bibliographic reference of Hurley's work.)
--R. Stephenson
(15 December 2001)
SOME IDEAS ABOUT THE FAR SOUTH BEFORE THE WESTERN EUROPEAN AGE OF DISCOVERY by David L. Lipton. (Haverford, PA: Infinity Publishing.com, 2001) 132 pp. Wrappers. $11.95. ISBN 0-7414-0643-8.
A very personal and at times curious examination of early thoughts and theories on the far south drawn from many cultures. In each case the discussion is not lengthy, in part because the author's motive is to encourage readers to pursue further the sources cited.
--R. Stephenson
(13 December 2001)
From the back cover: "Traditionally, Antarctic history focuses on exploration and ideas during the five most recent centuries. However, before this time, one discovers many ideas about what lay to the south, as well as some voyages beyond the southernmost regions known to the sailors' culture. And these activities were not limited to Greco-Roman Civilization and its Western European heirs. Important ancient and medieval developments also occurred in the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania. Geographical theories often varied even within a given culture. Also, the author reviews some recent positions on activities during these early eras."
David L. Lipton is an independent scholar whose areas of interest are Antarctic history, world history, and the philosophy of history.
DISCOVERY ILLUSTRATED: PICTURES FROM CAPTAIN SCOTT'S FIRST ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION by J.V. Skelton and D.M. Wilson. (Cheltenham, UK: Reardon Publishing [www.reardon.co.uk], 2001) 168 pp. ISBN 1-873877-48-X.
David Wilson and Judy Skelton have worked hard on this publication commemorating the centenary of the Discovery expedition. It's due out in November 2001. Edited from the journals of Dr Edward A. Wilson and Chief Engineer Reginald W. Skelton and including 500 images (paintings and photographs) by the editors' famous forebears, it will be available in two formats: hardback at £39.95, and a special boxed limited edition (100 signed copies) at £70. The overall edition is limited to 2000 copies. All royalties will be donated to support the work of the Scott Polar Research Institute. For ordering information contact J.V. Skelton, 32 Davis Road, London W3 7SQ, UK. In the US it can be obtained as well from Chris Rider, Rare & Out-of-Print Books, P. O. Box 417, Glenmoore, PA 19343-0417. E-mail: chrisridr@aol.com. Tel: 610-458-9881. Limited edition: $175. Trade edition: $75.
UPDATE: According to David Wilson, now out and available.
(16 November 2001)
UPDATE: I recently received my copy, the limited edition of a hundred numbered and signed copies. A very handsome production in black leatherette with silver gilt spine and cover decoration (logo of the expedition). 'Profusely illustrated' is not an exaggerated description, and many of the illustrations (photographs, Wilson sketches and watercolors, adverts and other ephemera) appear here for the first time. Also quite a bit of material from the 'South Polar Times'. There's no table of contents but here is the sequence"
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
1: Introduction. July 1895 - July 1900
2: Expedition Preparations August 1900 - 6 August 1901
3: The Voyage Out. 7 August 1901 - 24 December 1901
4: Something New Every Day. 25 December 1901 - 8 February 1902
5: Hut Point and Autumn Sledging. 9 February 1902 - 22 April 1902
6: The First Winter. 23 April 1902 - 23 August 1902
7: Spring Sledging. 24 August 1902 - 24 October 1902
8: Summer Sledging and the coming of Morning. 25 October 1902 - 2 March 1903
9: The Second Winter. 3 March 1903 - 6 September 1903
10: The Second Sledging Season. 7 September - 25 December 1903
11: The Return to Civilisation. 26 December - 1 April 1904
12: The Journey Home and Thereafter. 2 April 1904 - 1907
13: Epilogue. One Hundred Years on 1901-2001
Discovery Ship's Company when She Sailed from New Zealand for the Antarctic on 24 December 1901
Select Bibliography and Further Recommended Reading
List of Illustrations and Copyright Acknowledgements
A very useful and well-done job in celebration of the centenary of the ship and the expedition and who better to do it than descendants of two of the indispensable members of the expedition. Many thanks David and Judy!
--R. Stephenson
(13 December 2001)
CHERRY: A LIFE OF APSLEY CHERRY-GARRARD by Sara Wheeler. (London: Jonathan Cape, 2001) [354] pp. Illustrations. Maps. £17.99. ISBN 0-224-05004-4. US edition to be issued by Random House in April 2002.
Sara Wheeler, author of the bestselling Terra Incognita, is writing a
biography of Apsley Cherry-Garrard. The book, which the anxious author hopes
to have finished by the end of 2000 for publication in 2001, has the
cooperation of Cherry's widow. It will be published in the US by Random
House and in the UK by Jonathan Cape. It is the first biography of the
author of The Worst Journey in the World, and draws on much material never seen before.
Meanwhile Terra Incognita is being published in Russian, German,
Chinese, Estonian and Greek.
(10 August 1999)
UPDATE: I learned from Sara in November 2000 that the first draft of her Cherry-Garrard book is complete and publication is set for Autumn 2001.
UPDATE: Sara told me the other day that the publication date in the UK is 8 November 2001 (Jonathan Cape); in the US, April 2002 (Random House). The UK price will be £20.
-- R. Stephenson
(27 September 2001)
From a recent issue of Stanfords Shop News: "'The Worst Journey in the World' by Apsley Cherry-Garrard, one of the youngest members of Scott's final expedition to the Antarctic, has traversed time as a classic masterpiece of Arctic [sic] reportage. This biography examines why, whilst examining Cherry-Garrard's own life, which proved more complicated than literature, as he faced a terrible struggle against depression breakdown and despair."
NOTE: Sara will speak on her book on 14 November 2001 in Stanfords Travel Lectures series in London. See 'Antarctic Events' elsewhere on this site for more information.
UPDATE: 'Cherry' is now out and according to Sara it's been '...reprinted twice within a week of publication.'
--R. Stephenson
(16 November 2001)
UPDATE: I now have my copy of the UK edition (not due in the US until April). It's apparently doing VERY well. I haven't gotten very far into it yet.
Contents
List of Illustrations
Maps
Introduction
1. Ancestral Voices
2. Lamer
3. Untrodden Fields
4. Winning All Hearts
5. Out of the World
6. Even with God
7. It is the Tent
8. Kipling in Real Life
9. The War had Won
10. The Most Wonderful Story in the World
11. The Chaos which Threatens
12. Danced with AC-G
13. A Darker Continent
14. A Winter Journey Indeed
Guide to Notes
Notes
Select Bibliography
Guide to Selected Antarcticans
Acknowledgements
Index
--R. Stephenson
(13 December 2001)
UPDATE: The US edition has been out for awhile and is doing very well. There was a terrific review by Michael Kenney in the 17 April issue of the Boston Globe. And the book was featured (including the cover) in a review by Caroline Alexander in the Sunday New York Times book section on the 5th of May, also very positive.
--R. Stephenson
(9 May 2002)
CAPTAIN COOK'S WORLD; MAPS OF THE LIFE AND VOYAGES OF JAMES COOK R.N. by John Robson. Published simultaneously by Random House New Zealand (Auckland), Random House Australia and University of Washington Press (Seattle), 2000. 211 pp. US$40. ISBN 0295980192 (University of Washington Press) ISBN 1869414098 (Random House New Zealand) ISBN 1740514130 (Random House Australia). More recently issued in the UK by Chatham Publications at £25. ISBN 1861761813.
Contents
List of Maps
Preface
Introduction
Early Life -- Maps 0.01 - 0.24
The First Voyage -- Maps 1.01 - 1.40
The Second Voyage -- Maps 2.01 - 2.32
The Third Voyage -- Maps 3.01 - 3.31; Map 4.01
Gazetteer
Bibliography
This is a handsomely produced book in an oblong format. The maps, which are in color, are all drawn in a similar style and include the "...the locations visited, named or surveyed by Cook, the routes of his voyages, and sites that have been marked in his honour." Of interest to Antarcticans is the Second Voyage which is described in 16 pages of text followed by 32 maps. Sites associated with Cook's early life in Cleveland (Middlesbrough, Great Ayton, Staithes, Whitby) and in various sections of greater London are described and shown on several maps as well.
--R. Stephenson
(15 October 2001)
SHACKLETON AT SOUTH GEORGIA by Robert Burton and Stephen Venables. Foreword by the Hon. Alexandra Shackleton. (Hemingford Abbots, UK: Robert Burton, 2001) 24 pp. £3 plus 35p for postage and handling; from the US, $5 plus $1 for postage and handling. ISBN 0-9541389-0-2.
Shackleton visited South Georgia on Endurance, James Caird and Quest. This 24-page booklet describes the three visits and his funeral, as well as the retracing of his Crossing of South Georgia by three renowned mountaineers. Illustrated with little-known historic photographs and modern re-enactments.
All proceeds will be donated to the restoration of the Manager's House, the 'Villa', at Stromness whaling station where Shackleton and his two companions finished their epic journey.
Available from Robert Burton, 63 Common Lane, Hemingford Abbots, Huntingdon PE28 9AW, UK. Tel: 01480 352340. E-mail: rwburton@ntlworld.com
The Stromness Villa
The Villa at Stromness whaling station was the home of the managers and also the administrative centre. Compared with the rest of the station, the Villa was extremely comfortable. It boasted a bathroom, soft chairs, flowers in pots and other luxuries. Thoralf Sorile, who welcomed Shackleton into the Villa , was sometimes accompanied by his wife and four daughters.
Stromness closed as a whaling station in 1931 but was converted into a ship repair yard until final closure in 1961. Since then, the Stromness Villa has suffered from the weather and vandals. Destruction of the windows and doors has allowed snow, rain and seals indoors and some of the wooden fabric is rotten. The gaping holes have now been boarded up so that deterioration has been greatly reduced and the Villa is safe from imminent collapse.
As Journey's End for Shackleton, Worsley and Crean, the Stromness Villa is one of South Georgia's historic sites: 'Mr Sorille's hospitality had no bounds. He would scarcely let us wait to remove our freezing boots before he took us into his house and gave us seats in a warm and comfortable room.' [Shackleton in South.]
Restoration
An increasing number of visitors to South Georgia walk Shackleton's route from Fortuna Bay to Stromness. A hardy few attempt the complete crossing from King Haakon Bay. At the moment they are denied their ultimate destination: the Stromness Villa. Access to the whaling station has been forbidden for reasons of safety. Funds are now being raised for saving the Villa and clearing the area so that all visitors can visit without danger. It is hoped that everyone who has fallen under the spell of South Georgia and the story of the Endurance will contribute to the restoration. Perhaps by buying this little book. The generosity and support of so many individuals and organisations mean that the entire price of each copy goes to helping save the Villa.
--Bob Burton
(14 October 2001)
A recent e-mail from Bob reports that a message from the Commissioner of South Georgia was read out at the London premiere of the Shackleton IMAX movie that stated that they are "determined to restore and preserve the Manager's Villa", that a Fund is being set up and some soldiers will be sent there to clean up debris and make a structural survey.
Bob goes on to say that "We are also just completing a flyer and membership form for the new 'South Georgia Association'. At the moment we are concentrating on circulating the information to potential UK members to advertise our Inaugural Meeting on 14 December, then we will circulate to US and elsewhere."
--Bob Burton
(22 October 2001)
UPDATE: I received a copy a few days back and it's an excellent booklet with a lot of information and photos (many previously unpublished or seldom seen) crammed in the 24 pages. Bob--who knows as much about South Georgia as anyone--deserves praise for his efforts, so too Stephen Venables.
--R. Stephenson
(13 December 2001)
CONTENTS
Foreword: Alexandra Shackleton
Introduction
Gateway to the Antarctic
Exit from the Antarctic
The Last Expedition
Following Shackleton Across the Island
PESCA: THE HISTORY OF COMPAÑIA ARGENTINA DE PESCA SOCIEDAD ANÓNIMA OF BUENOS AIRES. AN ACCOUNT OF THE PIONEER MODERN WHALING AND SEALING COMPANY IN THE ANTARCTIC by Ian B. Hart. (Salcombe, Devon, UK: Aidan Ellis Publishing, 2001) 548 pp. £45. ISBN 0 85628 299 5.
A comprehensive and scholarly account of the subject, with 269 black and white photographs, maps, drawings and graphs.
--R. Stephenson
(12 October 2001)
"Pesca is a fascinating account of the commercial activities of the pioneer company which exploited the vast natural resources of the great Southern and Antarctic Oceans.
It is the story of a company, whose beginnings are unique in the annals of polar history: founded as the result of an Antarctic expedition mishap by a Norwegian whaling captain, funded by Argentine capital and established on the remote and uninhabited windswept island of South Georgia laid claim to by Britain. The narrative of Pesca embraces both political intrigue and commercial enterprise in the harshest of maritime environments.
Ian Hart writes about the events which led to the formation of this cosmopolitan company, its impact on the great Antarctic whaling industry and the bearing it had on British and Argentine political activity right up to the Falklands war.
Illustrated by photographs, many not previously published, Pesca is the story of men who had the courage to invest in an amazing polar enterprise and the bravery, skill and fortitude of the crews who made it pay.
In many ways, the activities exemplified man's insatiable greed: the initial success, high hopes and vast profits founded on the slaughter of whales, which continued in the decline of Pesca in the 1960s and final collapse."
--From the dustwrapper.
CONTENTS
Foreword: The Hon Alexandra Shackleton
The Background to the Company's Formation
The Formation of the Company
The Antarctic Island of South Georgia
The Colonial Background
Early Developments
Progression 1906-1909
Profitability and Later Decline 1909-1913
Practice and Production
Social Life and Labour Relations
The First World War
Post War Trading
Pelagic Interlude
Developments in the 1930s and The Second World War
A New Direction
Investment and Improvement 1955-1958
A New Fleet
The Last of the 1950s
A New Company and the Final Years
Sealers and Sealing
Epilogue
Endnotes
Appendices - Tables of Statistical Information
Bibliography
Index
ANTARCTICA: THE COMPLETE STORY by David McGonigal and Lynn Woodworth. (Willoughby NSW: Global Book Publishing Pty Ltd., 2001) 608 pp. With accompanying CD-ROM. Publication date, price, etc: Unknown.
Note: Gordon Bain reports from Australia on 3 October that he just saw a copy at the Australian Antarctic Division, so the book is out or will be shortly. He says the publisher is The Five Mile Press, Noble Park, Victoria. ISBN 1 86503 541 6. Price: estimated AUD$100.
"Antarctica has not always been a place of ice and snow. Once part of the supercontinent of Gondwanaland, it is believed to have enjoyed a warmer climate in which plants and land animals thrived. However, nowadays less than one percent of the surface is ice free, and at bedrock level the ice can be up to a million or more years old. In comparison, the Arctic consists entirely of pack-ice which breaks into ice floes in summer and floats on the Arctic Ocean.
While the ice gives rise to spectacular scenery, both on land and sea, these regions also have an astonishing variety of wildlife. The two Poles have few common species (apart from some birds and whales) but many endemic ones-polar bears, walruses and puffins in the north, penguins and elephant seals in the south.
Both regions have long been associated with tales of great heroism in their exploration, and here too there are common links. Roald Amundsen was first to the South Pole and died in a rescue in the north (at that time his ship, the Fram, had been furthest south and furthest north). Frederick Cook, who lodged a false claim to being first to the North Pole, was the first to winter over in Antarctica, as part of a Belgian expedition. Nowadays, tourists can visit in cruise ships and see the almost impossible task the explorers set themselves
Both areas are of concern ecologically. For several years there has been a hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica; one is now opening over the Arctic Circle. Ecologists watch both Antarctica and the Arctic for any signs of change that may have implications for the planet as a whole. They join scientists from all over the world conducting research in these unique conditions
With interesting and authoritative text written by a team of international experts, accompanied by over a thousand superb photographs, this book will fascinate all with an interest in the Poles and their wildlife.
The content will cover the following topics, among others:
Geography and geology.
Climate and weather.
Ice, icebergs, glaciers and land formations.
History and exploration.
Wildlife and flora--how unique life has evolved in a very harsh environment.
Polar science--the scientists who live and work in Antarctica, the research bases.
Icebreaker shipping and tourism.
Politics and treaties and the interested parties, including the 1988 Minerals Convention.
The people of the Arctic.
Conservation and the future (specific Polar issues, such as melting of the ice caps and ozone depletion)."
--From an early publisher's blurb.
UPDATE: A complimentary copy arrived yesterday and I took it back to the post office today to weigh it: It comes in at 8 lbs which must make it the heaviest polar book yet. [Complimentary because I contributed a couple of minor sections near the back.] It's also the most elaborate: enclosed in a printed cradle of sorts which, in turn, goes into an illustrated slipcase (12 x 13.5 inches). It also includes a CD ROM disk. My immediate reaction was that it's a logical extension of 1985 Readers Digest effort ('Antarctica: Great Stories from the Frozen Continent'), also an Australian production and long considered the single best resource on Antarctica. Here are some further statistics: 608 pages. More than 1,000 photographs and illustrations. More than 80 thematic maps (very handsome, too). The authors: David McGonigal and Dr Lynn Woodworth. The publisher: The Five Mile Press, 22 Summit road, Noble Park, VIC 3174 Australia. Tel: 61 3 9790 5000. No indication as to price although Gordon Bain (see above) suggests around $100 Australian.
There's a curious aspect to the book: The Title is Antarctica: The Complete Story but the book actually covers both the Arctic and the Antarctic (although the latter receives far more attention). Why not 'The Arctic and The Antarctic: The Complete Story?
CONTENTS
Foreword (by Sir Edmund Hillary)
Introduction
Part I: THE ENDS OF THE EARTH
The Geology of the Poles
The Polar Environment
Part II: POLAR REGIONS
The Antarctic Peninsula
The Ross Sea and East Antarctica
The Sub-Antarctic Islands
The Arctic
Part III: POLAR WILDLIFE
Antarctic Ecology
Seals
Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises
Seabirds
Penguins
Arctic Wildlife
Part IV: POLAR EXPLORATION
Early Explorers 1487-1900
The Heroic Age 1901-1917
Modern Explorers 1921-1959
Part V: LIFE AT THE POLES
Managing the Poles
Conquering the Poles
Living and Working in the Cold
Part VI: Resources
Gazetteer
Index
Acknowledgments
--R. Stephenson
(10 October 2001)
THE "TAURUS" COLLECTION; 150 COLLECTIBLE BOOKS ON THE ANTARCTIC. A BIBLIOGRAPHY edited by Julian Mackenzie, collated by Lisa Milton, notes by Richard Kossow. (London: The Travellers' Bookshop, 2001) 197 pp., cloth. Numerous color photographic illustrations mainly of book covers and dust wrappers. Limited to 500 copies. £150. ISBN 1 874472 52. Details from The Travellers' Bookshop, 32 St George Street, London W1S 2EA, UK. Tel: 020 7493 0876. E-mail: travel@shapero.com.
Contents: Preface; Acknowledgements; Books and Scientific Reports arranged chronologically by expedition; General; Biography; Index of Expeditions; Index of Authors; Index of Book Titles.
"The Taurus Collection is one of the pre-eminent collections of books on the Antarctic in private hands. Painstakingly assembled over many years within very tight criteria, the collection encompasses the major works of exploration by people who actually went to the continent in the Golden Age, which ended with the outbreak of the Second World War. Great attention has been paid to condition and the books present in the collection are generally exceptionally fine copies, including many with rarely seen dust wrappers. Also present are important biographies, generally by people who personally knew their subject, and scientific reports from nationally sponsored expeditions. The items are supplied with collations, notes and illustrations, making this a work of great value not only to collectors and dealers but also to those interested in the history of Antarctic Exploration."
--From the publisher's flyer for the book.
Large format book with high quality photographic illustrations. The price is a major hurdle for all but serious collectors. The collations are reasonably detailed, certainly more so than in the case of Spence or Conrad. One appears here picked at random:
British Antarctic Expedition under Robert Scott (1910-1913))
90. TAYLOR, Griffith
British ("Terra Nova") Antarctic Expedition, 1910-1913. The Physiography of the McMurdo Sound and Granite Harbour Region. By Griffith Taylor, D.Sc., B.E. (Syd.), B.A. (Camb.), F.R.G.S. McCaughey Associate-Professor of Geography, University of Sydney, Senior Geologist and Leader of the Western Parties.
4to (310 x 240 mm); pp. [2], [i-iv], v-xvi, 241, 242-246 numbered alternate pages only, 7 maps (4 folding in end-pocket, 3 full-page including frontispiece), 141 photographic illustrations on 53 plates, 10 stereoscopic plates, 2 panoramic views on 1 folding plate, 171 sketch figures, maps and diagrams in the text (4 full-page), errata slip, original pebbled maroon cloth, covers with blindstamped borders, spine lettered in gilt; presentation copy with inscription "Lancelot Fleming / with best of wishes: / 1934" on front free endpaper, Fleming's bookplate on front pastedown. (Lancelot Fleming was a member of the British Graham Land Expedition).
Harrison and Sons, Ltd., London 1922.
First edition. This is the more formal scientific account of Taylor's western journeys - the third outing for his descriptive powers (the first appeared in Scott's Last Expedition, Volume II). Nevertheless, it is undoubtedly the most lavishly illustrated and charted version, as well as the most difficult of his titles to obtain.
Spence 1184.
--R. Stephenson
(7 October 2001)
THE COLDEST MARCH by Susan Solomon (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001) 416 pp. 72 illustrations. $29.95. ISBN 08967-8. For additional information e-mail: jean.black@yale.edu
"In November of 1911, Captain Robert Falcon Scott led a British team across the snows of Antarctica, striving to be the first to attain the South Pole. After marching and skiing over 900 miles, Scott and four companions reached the Pole in January of 1912, only to find that a group of five Norwegians had been there almost a month earlier. Scott and his polar party all perished on their return journey, and the foundation of one of Antarctica's most tragic legends was laid.
Now, ninety years after Scott and his companions began their fatal journey, The Coldest March brings a scientific perspective to understanding the men of the expedition, their struggle, and the reasons for their deaths. Extensive meteorological data reveal the startling conclusion that Scott's polar party was struck down by extremely unusual weather. As the book describes the myriad challenges faced by Scott and his men, new insights into their struggle are uncovered based upon contemporary knowledge not only of meteorology but also of sea ice dynamics, nutrition, snow physics, materials science, and more. The book also extends past science to the human side of this poignant story, illustrating how each man was unique in his contributions, outlook, and ultimate fate. No other book on the British Antarctic Expedition of 1910-1913 has brought science into the analysis of this key page of Antarctic history, and no other book has so fully depicted the lives and characters of the remarkable men who died after enduring "the coldest march."
About the author: Susan Solomon is a recognized world expert in atmospheric science. She led major scientific expeditions to the Antarctic in 1986 and 1987. She is the recipient of many honors for her insights in explaining the cause of the Antarctic ozone hole, including the highest award of the American Meteorological Society, the Carl-Gustaf Rossby Medal, and the United States' highest scientific distinction, the National Medal of Science." Among her many other distinctions is an Antarctic glacier named in her honor.
--From the publisher's blurb.
This book is based in part on a technical paper co-authored by Susan Solomon and Charles R. Stearns entitled "On the Role of the Weather in the Deaths of R. F. Scott and His Companions" that appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (November 9, 1999; vol 96, no 23, pp 13012-16). She spoke on the subject at the recent (October 5-6, 2000) American Polar Society meeting at Boulder, Colorado. I enjoyed her talk and am looking forward to seeing the book, which Susan tells me contains more surprises.The author is also a Senior Scientist at the Aeronomy Laboratory, NOAA, in Boulder.
--R. Stephenson
(16 November 2000)
The Coldest March: Scott's Fatal Antarctic Expedition
"Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale."-R. Scott, written after traveling for weeks of daily temperatures below - 35 °F.
This riveting book tells the tragic story of Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his British team who in November 1911 began a trek across the snows of Antarctica, striving to be the first to reach the South Pole. After marching and skiing more than nine hundred miles, the men reached the Pole in January 1912, only to suffer the terrible realization that a group of five Norwegians had been there almost a month earlier. On their return journey, Scott and his four companions perished, and their legacies--as courageous heroes or tragic incompetents--have been debated ever since.
Susan Solomon brings a scientific perspective to understanding the men of the expedition, their staggering struggle, and the reasons for their deaths. Drawing on extensive meteorological data and on her own personal knowledge of the Antarctic, she depicts in detail the sights, sounds, legends, and ferocious weather of this singular place. And she reaches the startling conclusion that Scott's polar party was struck down by exceptionally frigid weather--a rare misfortune that thwarted the men's meticulous predictions of what to expect. Solomon describes the many adventures and challenges faced by Scott and his men on their journey, and she also discusses each one's life, contributions, and death. Her poignant and beautifully written book restores them to the place of honor they deserve.
"A fresh and captivating look at one of the most tragic sagas in the annals of exploration. Solomon takes the reader on a breathtaking ride through Antarctica's beauty, history, and uniquely forbidding weather, weaving stunning scientific insights into the story of the lives and deaths of the men of Scott's last expedition in a forensic tour de force. Carefully researched, innovative, and elegantly written, The Coldest March will fascinate and inform anyone intrigued by polar adventure or the interplay of science and society."--Paul Ehrlich, author of Human Natures and Wild Solutions.
"An inspiring chronicle of Antarctic scientific exploration at its most heroic. From the vantage point of history and her personal experience in Antarctica and with all the human and scientific insights of the outstanding scientist that she is, Susan Solomon has written a masterpiece. It is a tale of vision, courage, endurance, patriotism, loyalty, and all the strengths and frailties of the human spirit. Above all, it is good science, good history, and gripping reading."--J.W. Zillman, president of the World Meteorological Organization
--From publisher's blurb
(15 March 2001)
Note: There is now a website devoted to Susan's book: http://www.coldestmarch.com
Note: "The Chronicle of Higher Education is sponsoring an online discussion this week on a new book, "The Coldest March," in which Susan Solomon argues that Robert Falcon Scott does not deserve his reputation as a bungler of his doomed expedition to the South Pole. The Chronicle invites members of this list to read an article about the new book, and to join a discussion about it at: http://chronicle.com/colloquy/2001/polar/polar.htm"
--From a 4 September e-mail to the POLAR-L@LISTSERV.UOGUELPH.CA
UPDATE: Susan's been in the UK talking about her book. I had the pleasure of being at SPRI when she spoke. See under 'Antarctic Events' elsewhere on this site for a photograph.
--R. Stephenson
CONTENTS
List of Maps
List of Figures
Preface
Acknowledgments
Prologue: The Hut at the Bottom of the World
One: Into the Pack
Two: Of Dogs and Men
Three: The Return
Four: The Safety of Supplies
Five: The Start of a "Coreless" Winter
Six: For the Love of Science
Seven: In the Footsteps of Shackleton
Eight: Beyond the H of Hell
Nine: This Awful Place
Ten: Sunset on the Barrier
Eleven: The Anguish of Helplessness
Twelve: In Search of Explanations
Thirteen: A Chillingly Unusual March
Fourteen: The WInds of Chance and Choice
Epilogue: The Worst Weather in the World
Appendix One: The Men of the Mission
Appendix Two: A Timeline of Interconnected Lives
Notes
Glossary
Selected Bibliography
Index
Here's what I said on the 4th of September about the book on the Chronicle of Higher Education colloquy (see above) http://chronicle.com/colloquy/2001/polar/02.htm: "I'm only at page 60 of Susan's book and have yet to reach the meat of her conclusions, but I will say that she writes very well and does an excellent job of integrating quotes from journals and published sources into her narrative. I've detected no obvious errors yet and, impressively, she spel